CalderÃ³n and his conservative PAN, along with the Catholic Church that has jumped in the middle of the marriage rumble, have said the new same-sex marriage law goes against nature and the Mexican Constitution.

But Ebrard signed the bill, saying that nothing in Mexico’s Constitution forbids same-sex marriage or adoption by gay couples.

Even in a city accustomed to weekly — and sometimes daily — protests by various groups, this second LGBT protest stopped traffic thanks to its brightlyâ€“colored drag queens leading the protests.

But federal police, who almost outnumbered the protesters, stopped the marchers before they could reach Los PiÃ±os. The police wore full body armor with helmets with face guards and carried shields, apparently afraid of a Stonewall-style rebellion.

There are no local conservative or religious groups protesting or marching in the streets against the same-sex marriage law. Strong opposition has come only from President CalderÃ³n and PAN and the Catholic Church.

Many gay marriage supporters believe that CalderÃ³n is using the fight over the new law to distract attention from his failed drug war that has claimed 15,000 lives over the past three years.